An immigration reform compromise could be on the horizon, as influential Congressional Republicans seem to be coming to the conclusion that they will need to find a way to deal with the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country short of trying to deport them all.
On Tuesday, Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham left a meeting on immigration with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in good spirits.
"It's one of the best meetings I've ever had with the president," said Graham to reporters. "Senator McCain made a strong point about the border, and the president understands the working components of it, so I was quite frankly encouraged. I think we'll have presidential leadership in a very productive way on immigration reform, and with that, we've got a very good chance of doing it this year."
Graham and McCain are two of the main proponents of a bipartisan Senate bill that provides a path to citizenship for many undocumented immigrants. However, that bill ties immigration reform to an increase in border security, an issue that could become contentious during negotiations.
But after the Tuesday meeting, McCain seemed hopeful that a deal could be worked out. When asked about border security, McCain replied, "I am more confident after our conversation today."
"I believe that the president is very committed to comprehensive immigration reform. Now, does that mean he's committed to anything we do? No, he has his positions on the issue as well."
Of course, even if the Senate and the White House come to an agreement, Republicans are having a difficult time reining in more conservative elements in the House of Representatives. But there are recent signs of compromise even there.
Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration issues, told a group of reporters that while he does not support special treatment for undocumented immigrants, he believes there needs to be some legal way for them to become citizens.
"There's a broad spectrum between deportation and easy, special pathway to citizenship, to find a way to bring people out of the shadows and give them a legal status that will allow them to be better able to participate in our society," he said on Wednesday.
While that may not sit well with Democrats, who are afraid that Republicans will assess punitive delays in citizenship for current undocumented immigrants, it is more than progressives have gotten since the Reagan years.
But if both sides can agree on practical ways to speed up the immigration process in general, then the backlog of legal immigrants can be handled relatively quickly, and undocumented immigrants can then join the queue -- at the back of the line, but at least out of the shadows.
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